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Over Mike Curro’s 30 years of coaching baseball and softball, he said Megan Woodridge has the “best glove work and mobility” he’s ever seen. Woodridge began honing her craft at Sports Zone Academy, a baseball and softball facility in Camillus, New York, operated by her father, Dickie.

She also played with boys most of her childhood, saying she started as a pitcher who could “strike out all of the boys” with her strong arm. By age 12, she shifted her focus to softball and zeroed in on playing shortstop, and then debuted on Fayetteville-Manlius High School’s varsity squad in seventh grade.

“She’s around baseball, softball, 24/7,” Curro said. “She’s got the facility to do all that work. She was playing against boys. You can see a lot of baseball in her game when it comes to her slots and how she throws and her footwork and her glove work.”

Though she played sparingly, it helped her set the foundation to become a Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American Game selection last summer and her commitment to Mississippi State. After a breakout sophomore campaign, accumulating a .590 batting average, Woodridge looks to carry that dominance into the 2025 season.

Additionally, leading the Hornets to the Section III Class AA semifinal in 2024, Woodridge hopes to guide them to the championship in 2025.

“A lot of younger girls are looking up to me as a role model, so I have to take them under my wing now and help them grow as players and people,” Woodridge said.

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Woodridge’s journey has been a family affair. Her father, Dickie, played baseball at Liverpool High School, Le Moyne College and later in Minor League Baseball for four years. Her older sister, Sophie, plays outfield on Yale’s softball team and her older brother, Thomas, is an infielder at Wofford College.

“As far as the support and all that stuff, it’s always there with all of us playing and coaching. She’s always had the opportunity just to practice and play and really fine-tune her skills at a younger age,” Dickie said.

Woodridge’s first varsity season, as a seventh grader, was extra meaningful. Sophie was a senior that year, and the sisters shared one season on the same team. As the youngest player on the team, Woodridge accumulated six hits across 26 at-bats.

Woodridge said the most valuable experience was managing the pressure of competing against older players and gaining a deeper understanding of the game under Sophie’s guidance.

As Woodridge continued developing, she left a strong impression on Teo Caymol, the president and coach of Impact Caymol, which is a softball program in Premier Girls Fastpitch. After watching Woodridge at a 2023 tryout, Caymol knew she had the tools—she just needed to face tougher competition.

“In high school, sometimes you get away with a lot of stuff, because you understand runners aren’t that fast. You don’t have to be on top of your game,” Caymol said. “But in travel, you can’t take a play off. And you learn that you can’t do the same things you did in high school if you want to succeed.”

Playing against improved competition, Woodridge starred for F-M in 2024, tallying career-highs with 30 runs, 13 stolen bases, 12 doubles and three triples. This led to her opportunity to play in the PGF All-American Game last summer, where the top high school players in the world compete against each other.

“When I got (in), I said ‘I made it,’” Woodridge said.

Beyond her on-field growth, Woodridge started growing into a leadership role on her club and high school teams. Caymol described her as a “quiet leader” who let her hustle and work ethic speak for her. Meanwhile, Curro said she became a mature leader who goes all out and sets the tone for her teammates.

“No doubt there’s a turning point in the (last) season where she turned into a different mindset type of player. And I loved it, and I like how she’s gone about her business this year, too.” Curro said.

Now preparing for a second PGF All-American appearance, Woodridge sees herself as a more complete player — ready to finish her high school career with a sectional title and leave a lasting legacy.

“From the beginning, it’s so much different,” Woodridge said. “Now, I’ve just progressed so much thanks to my family helping me, and my friends encouraging me. I’ve just become such a better player and a person, and I think that’s what I want people to know.”

Published on April 21, 2025 at 10:47 pm
Contact Kevin: jlu124@syr.edu | @kevlu0288